College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Calvin University

MIMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #1140 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Calvin University #1,140 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Calvin University is a private nonprofit university in Grand Rapids, Michigan, whose degree mix is led by Health Professions, Business, and Education, with mobility, its strongest , modestly below average. Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them.

The model attributes the gap partly to the factors it measures, which adds to earnings, and partly to a remainder it does not explain, which subtracts from them. The net price for the lowest income band sits well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it.

Pell students complete within a few points of the rate for the entering cohort as a whole. The admission rate is close to the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

Calvin University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
70.9%
Six-year completion[2]
74.1%
Four-year earnings[3]
$60,889

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$19,447
Median student debt[4]
$23,250
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$33,900

Calvin University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

A private nonprofit university in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Calvin University enrolls 3,193 undergraduates. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the university lands in the lower portion of the Azimuth ranking (22nd percentile), below the midpoint of the field.

Calvin University accepts 70.9% of applicants, matching the 71.2% median for comparable institutions. Among first-time full-time students, 86.8% continue into a second year, a figure that sits above the 83.4% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

The six-year graduation rate is 74.1%, also above the 68.8% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. An estimated 12.0% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year figure applies only to the first-time, full-time cohort rather than the entire student body.

Mobility is the strongest of the four pillars, at the 39th percentile, while access is the weakest, at the 27th percentile. Return and affordability sit between them, at the 30th and 36th percentiles.

The pillars cluster within a narrow band, with no single dimension standing far above or below the others.

Azimuth assesses Calvin University across four pillars among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. Mobility is the strongest, at the 39th percentile.

Affordability sits at the 36th percentile and return at the 30th percentile. Access is the weakest of the four, at the 27th percentile.

The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,083 and 1,330. For the ACT, the middle 50% ranged from 24 to 30.

Pell Grants go to 17.4% of undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients complete at a rate of 69.2%, which is 4.9 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole.

Azimuth ranks Calvin University #1,076 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks the university #891 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $12,532 less than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Calvin University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#1,140

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 39
Access & reach
National percentile: 27
Affordability
National percentile: 36
Return on investment
National percentile: 30

01 / Calvin University briefing

Calvin University cost & financial aid[6][7]

Calvin University publishes a cost of attendance of $54,222 for the standard budget. Tuition and fees are $39,350 and room and board are $12,120.

Aid covers about 58% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. That aid brings the average net price down to $22,992, a reduction of $31,230 from the sticker price.

The peer median net price among comparable institutions (same type and size) is $27,371. The university sits $4,379 below that figure.

Azimuth ranks the university #905 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The net price is below the peer median, yet the affordability pillar sits in the 36th percentile.

Calvin University publishes a cost of attendance of $54,222, with tuition and fees at $39,350 and room and board at $12,120. After grants and scholarships, the average net price—what aid recipients actually pay—is $19,281 for families earning under $30,000, $19,447 for families in the $48,001–$75,000 band, and $26,713 for families earning over $110,000.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $7,432, a difference of averages, not what any single family pays. Azimuth ranks the university #905 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 58% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $31,230 against the sticker price. The across all aid recipients is $22,992, which sits below the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $4,379.

Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, the median federal student debt is $23,250. That debt is below the peer median of $24,199 by $949, and 93.3% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $264. The median Parent PLUS borrowing is $33,900.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$19,447

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Calvin University

At Calvin University, 93.3% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and among those who borrow and complete a degree, the median federal student debt is $23,250. That median sits below the $24,199 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $949, a narrow gap.

For parents who borrow separately through the Parent PLUS program, the median loan is $33,900.

Four years after completion, graduates of Calvin University earn a median of $60,889, a figure in the 54th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $12,532 less than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 13th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios derived from the university's program mix show a typical earnings level of $60,889, with a downside scenario of $43,100 and an upside scenario of $80,972. Borrowers finish with a median federal debt of $23,250, which is below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $264 a month if repaid over ten years. The return picture is mixed: earnings sit below the model's expectation and the peer median, while debt comes in slightly below the peer benchmark.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $33,900. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $264.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$23,250
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$33,900

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$264/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$431/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Calvin University briefing

Calvin University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $60,889, in the 54th percentile. That is $7,361 below the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $12,532 less than the model expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 13th percentile.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 30th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds $3,679. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $16,211.

Four years after completing a degree at Calvin University, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $60,889. That figure is $7,361 below the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and Azimuth places it in the 54th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $12,532 less than the model expects for similar students. The gap falls at the 13th percentile, meaning most schools among nonprofit four-year institutions post a stronger result on this measure.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show the range: a downside scenario of $43,100 and an upside scenario of $80,972, with the typical scenario at $60,889. An estimated 32.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix, so the four-year earnings picture captures most but not all completers.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $60,889. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $68,250, leaving the university $7,361 below that benchmark.

Azimuth ranks Calvin University #1,026 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $12,532 less than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap in the 13th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,679.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $16,211. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $2,197.

The program mix yields a wide spread in earnings scenarios. The typical earnings scenario is $60,889, with a downside of $43,100 and an upside of $80,972.

An estimated 32.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings four years after completion vary widely by field at Calvin University, a spread captured by the earnings scenarios: a downside of $43,100, a typical scenario of $60,889, and an upside of $80,972. The university has 16 programs with published earnings data, and the top earners show what is possible at the high end.

Computer Science completers reach a median of $95,410, while Engineering graduates earn $82,326 and Accounting completers earn $75,085. The gap between the downside and upside scenarios reflects the real difference between choosing a lower-earning field and one of these top programs.

Calvin University publishes a cost of attendance of $54,222. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $22,992, which is $4,379 below the $27,371 peer median.

For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $19,281, while the highest band, over $110,000, averages $26,713. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $7,432.

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $23,250 in federal student loans, $949 below the peer median. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $264 a month if repaid over ten years. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $33,900.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$3,679
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$16,211
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$12,532

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Calvin University briefing

Calvin University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Calvin University admits 70.9% of applicants, a rate that sits close to the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The figure means the university admits the large majority of students who apply.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
70.9%
Approximate lower endpoint
1083
Reported average
1233
Approximate upper endpoint
1330

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Calvin University briefing

What are the largest majors at Calvin University?[12]

The five largest programs with published earnings at Calvin University show a wide earnings spread four years after completion, from $95,410 in Computer Science to $47,157 in Teacher Education. Computer Science awarded 35 degrees and is the highest-earning program on campus, while Teacher Education awarded 49 degrees and sits at the lower end of the range.

Engineering, the largest program with 75 degrees awarded, shows a median of $82,326. Nursing follows with 69 degrees and $74,810.

Psychology, at 50 degrees, reports $54,412, a figure that sits between the higher-earning technical fields and the lower-earning service-oriented programs.

Calvin University publishes earnings data for 16 bachelor's programs. The largest, Engineering, awarded 75 degrees and shows a median of $82,326 four years after completion.

Nursing follows with 69 degrees awarded and a median of $74,810. Psychology awarded 50 degrees and reports a median of $54,412.

The highest-earning program is Computer Science, with 35 degrees awarded and a median of $95,410. Accounting also clears $75,000, at $75,085.

The dollar gap between the highest-earning program and the lowest-earning among the largest, Teacher Education at $47,157, is substantial, underscoring how much earnings vary by field at this university.

The bachelor's degree mix at Calvin University is spread across several fields, with no single family dominating. Health Professions accounts for 12.9% of degrees awarded, followed closely by Business at 12.2% and Education at 11.4%.

The university has 16 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Engineering, awarding 75 degrees a year, with median earnings of $82,326 four years after completion.

Nursing is nearly as large at 69 degrees awarded, and its graduates earn a median of $74,810. The highest-earning program is a smaller one.

Computer Science graduates earn a median of $95,410 four years out, from 35 degrees awarded a year. Accounting, with 23 degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $75,085.

The pattern is one of breadth rather than concentration. The largest programs are in fields with solid, middle-of-the-road earnings, while the highest pay goes to a program that awards fewer degrees. Across all fields, 23.3% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Engineering, General 75 degrees awarded
$82,326
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 69 degrees awarded
$74,810
Psychology, General 50 degrees awarded
$54,412
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 49 degrees awarded
$47,157
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology 48 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Marketing 38 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Calvin University briefing

How does Calvin University serve students from different backgrounds?

Calvin University's strongest pillar is mobility, which sits in the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Among the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 74.1%, while Pell recipients complete at 69.2%, below the overall rate by 4.9 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $12,532 less than the model expects for similar students, which puts the earnings beyond expectations measure—the gap between graduate earnings and the model's expectation—in the 13th percentile. Strong completion figures and below-expected earnings point in opposite directions, which leaves the mobility profile split.

Access is the weakest pillar for Calvin University, a private nonprofit university in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Azimuth places the access pillar in the 27th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university admits 70.9% of applicants, and Pell Grant recipients account for 17.4% of the 3,193 undergraduates. An estimated 12.0% of students enter as transfers or part-time students.

06 / Calvin University briefing

What colleges are similar to Calvin University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Calvin University.

Admissions peerSaint Mary's College76.0% admitted
Comparison with Calvin University
MeasureCalvin UniversitySaint Mary's College
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,889$69,406+$8,517 vs Calvin University
Average annual net price$22,992$25,292+$2,300 vs Calvin University · higher cost
Admission rate70.9%76.0%
Explore Saint Mary's College →
Higher-admission alternativeAndrews University81.9% admitted
Comparison with Calvin University
MeasureCalvin UniversityAndrews University
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,889$60,517-$372 vs Calvin University
Average annual net price$22,992$12,547-$10,445 vs Calvin University · lower cost
Admission rate70.9%81.9%
Nearby alternativeAndrews UniversityNearby option · MI
Comparison with Calvin University
MeasureCalvin UniversityAndrews University
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,889$60,517-$372 vs Calvin University
Average annual net price$22,992$12,547-$10,445 vs Calvin University · lower cost
Admission rate70.9%81.9%
Higher-earnings alternativeCleary University$67,914 earnings
Comparison with Calvin University
MeasureCalvin UniversityCleary University
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,889$67,914+$7,025 vs Calvin University
Average annual net price$22,992$22,143-$849 vs Calvin University · lower cost
Admission rate70.9%67.5%
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Michigan-Flint$7,007 average net price
Comparison with Calvin University
MeasureCalvin UniversityUniversity of Michigan-Flint
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,889$65,600+$4,711 vs Calvin University
Average annual net price$22,992$7,007-$15,985 vs Calvin University · lower cost
Admission rate70.9%70.5%
Explore University of Michigan-Flint →
Similar profileHope CollegeMatched across several measures
Comparison with Calvin University
MeasureCalvin UniversityHope College
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,889$60,573-$316 vs Calvin University
Average annual net price$22,992$27,182+$4,190 vs Calvin University · higher cost
Admission rate70.9%79.2%
Explore Hope College →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings